Genesis
by Catch 23
Summary: However hard he tries, Seto can’t escape his stepfather’s legacy. But maybe the demons Gozoburo unleashed aren’t just in his head, as a cry for help from a secret research facility begins a chain of events more terrible than he could ever have imagined...
1. Chapter 1

**Genesis**

Summary: No matter how hard he tries, Seto can't seem to escape his stepfather's legacy. But perhaps the demons Gozoburo unleashed aren't just in his head, as desperate email from an old research facility unleashes a chain of events far more terrible than he could ever have imagined…

Warnings: Will be swearing violence and disturbingness (I hope. If there isn't, I haven't done my job…)

Author's notes: Inspired by Ultimate Nightmare and that gawd-awful Resident Evil movie, among other things.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, and only just my plot.

Chapter 1

To: Kaiba Gozoburo

From: Dr Tensai

Re: Genesis project

Message: Something gone wrong. Can't control them any more. Send reinforcements, before too late.

* * *

"What the hell…?" Kaiba stared at his monitor. There were so many things odd about this message, he didn't know what to be confused and angry about first.

Problem one: The man this message was addressed to, his stepfather, had been dead for the past year, and there were few people left stupid enough to mention his name.

Problem two: There was no way they could have got a message through his firewalls and into his personal inbox without majorly high security clearance, which lead onto

Problem three: He had never heard of either Doctor Tensai or the Genesis project, so there was no way he/she could have that kind of clearance.

And Problem four: What the hell did they (whoever "they" was) need reinforcements for, and what was it that couldn't be controlled?

A bizarre hoax? But what would be the point?

His day's agenda forgotten, he set to tracing the email. Anyone who dared to bring up his stepfather's name was going to be in a whole heap of shit when he found them…

* * *

Ten minutes later, he was screaming into his intercom.

"Taki! Get your ass in here!"

The unfortunate Taki in question squeaked and spilled her coffee, before making a frantic dash into her boss' office.

"You worked here under my "father", correct?

"Y-yes sir."

"Did you ever hear anything about the "Genesis project"...?"

"Uh…sorry sir…um…I...uh..."

"Stop stammering and answer the damn question."

"N-not that I know of, sir."

"Did he have any projects taking place in Russia?"

"Um…Why would he have had a project in Russia, Sir?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Kaiba snarled. "I just traced a message from there. Check through the company files. Look for a "Dr Tensai" and a "Genesis project."

His secretary squealed and scurried to obey.

* * *

"This is all I could find, Sir," Taki squeaked, holding out a sheaf of papers. "There was a woman named Dr Tensai Shokubai employed here, but that was six years ago. She was a specialist in genetics…strange…what would a weapons manufacturer have needed a geneticist for? Anyway, it's odd, but there's no record of her being fired or resigning…she just seemed to vanish…could be a clerical error…"

"And the Genesis project?" Kaiba prompted.

"I couldn't find anything on that…I'm sorry sir…Oh, but wait!" She began to franticly leaf through her papers. "There _was_ a record of your father purchasing a property in Russia, about the same time the doctor disappeared."

"What for? What the hell were they doing out there?"

"…It doesn't say…I'm sorry, Sir…" She looked ready to cry.

Many have wondered as to how someone as pathetic as Shisha Taki could manage to hold onto her job for so long in the harsh and predatory environment that is KaibaCorp. The answer…? Her considerable physical charms and low self esteem made her…a desirable colleague to work late with. She kept her job, and Kaiba got laid to put it bluntly. She both appalled him for her trust and desire to please, and fascinated him for the same reason. He didn't love her, or even particularly like her, but she was convenient. He didn't know she felt about him, and didn't really care. She seemed satisfied with their little arrangement, and was always up for a little "overtime".

"Never mind…" He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Clear my schedule for the next few days. We're going to Russia."

* * *

"So here we are. An intercontinental flight later, and we now stand outside the mysterious secret base which may or may not be home to a mysterious secret project, which may or may not be a hoax and may or may not be run by a mysterious woman who may or may not exist…huh…" muttered Jouin. "And why is Russia this cold?"

"Shut up," hissed Utsuro.

"But seriously, what the hell are we doing here? We'd better be getting paid extra for this," Jouin bitched. He hadn't been employed by KaibaCorp as long as his colleague, and had no idea of the dangerous territory he was treading.

"No, seriously, shut up!" Utsuro was more experienced and much less suicidal.

"Wha…why?"

"Perhaps because I'm standing behind you," Kaiba hissed. "Did you have a problem?"

"N-no, Sir," they chorused.

"Good." He stalked over to the base's entrance. "Any luck with the lock?"

Kubo, another of his henchmen, looked up from where he was kneeling by the door and shook his head.

"S-should we really be doing this…? Breaking in…?" Taki asked.

"I don't see why not. This base was once owned by Gozoburo, which means now its mine. Which means I can do whatever I damn well want with it. Now move out of the way. If you want something done properly…" he muttered. Kubo moved, and Kaiba took his place and began fiddling with the keypad affixed to the door.

Taki fidgeted and mentally urged him to hurry. This was not the kind of place she wanted to hang around. The base had once belonged to the Russian military, and it showed in the building; a stark concrete bunker, appearing all the more gloomy for the brilliant white of the surrounding snow. It was surrounded by acres of barbed wire, but the checkpoints had been empty, and no one had challenged them as they walked through. The overall effect wasn't that of a research centre; it was that of a prison.

Her musings were cut off by the shriek of rusty metal. She turned as the door started to grate open. From the horrible screeches it made, it was clear that it hadn't been opened in a while.

She went to stand beside the others as they crowded around the entrance.

And then they smelt it. Death and decay. The air reeked of it. Kubo gagged and turned away to puke.

And then, as their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw it…

"…Oh….God…"

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Genesis**

Summary: No matter how hard he tries, Seto can't seem to escape his stepfather's legacy. But perhaps the demons Gozoburo unleashed aren't just in his head, as desperate email from an old research facility unleashes a chain of events far more terrible than he could ever have imagined…

Warnings: Will be swearing, violence and disturbingness (I hope. If there isn't, I haven't done my job…)

Author's notes: Inspired by Ultimate Nightmare and that gawd-awful Resident Evil movie, among other things.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, and only just my plot.

Chapter 2

_Domino high school, same time_

"Haikei?"

"Here, sir."

"Hansaki?"

"I think he's sick…"

"Honda?"

"Present."

"Jounuchi?"

"Yo."

"Kaiba?"

Silence.

"Does anyone know where he is _this_ time? No? Fine then. Mazaki?"

"Present."

Kaiba's unexplained absences had become legendary. And since he was technically his own legal guardian, he could write his own excuse notes. He seemed to take a perverse pleasure in making his excuses as tenuous as possible, daring his teachers to challenge him. And God forbid that they should. They still didn't know what had happened to Mr. Yaku, but they doubted it had been pretty…

Jounuchi glowered.

"Who the hell does that bastard think he is? He treats this school like he owns it."

"Well, if he wanted to, he probably could…" Anzu muttered.

"So just cause he's rich he can do what he wants? I'm sick of him and his attitude. Next time I see him, I'm gonna -"

"Jounuchi, he might have a genuine reason this time…" Yugi told him, but it was clear he didn't really believe it himself.

Honda grinned. "Let's just hope he doesn't come back this time."

* * *

Kaiba didn't turn up that day or at all during the next two weeks, though the next Monday, just as Honda had started to believe that his prayers had been answered, he wandered into the classroom, over three hours late. Still, one look at him, and even Jounuchi didn't feel like challenging him.

Kaiba was naturally pale, thin and generally slightly sickly looking, but now he wouldn't have looked out of place on a mortuary slab. His skin was ashen and the dark circles around his eyes would have done credit to a panda.

"…H-hello Kaiba…um…do you have a note…?"

"…No…" he muttered, staring at her with empty eyes.

"…Well…can you tell me where you've been?"

"Ill."

"Are you sure you're well enough to be here…?" Ms Chono was plainly desperate to get as far away from him as possible. Probably to avoid catching whatever obviously fatal disease he had.

"I'm fine."

"…Oh…ok…well take your seat then…"

* * *

"Kaiba…?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Mmm."

"You don't look alright…"

"What Yugi is trying to say," Jounuchi butted in, "is that you look like a corpse."

"Mmm."

"Are you even listening to us?"

"Mmm."

"Stop with the 'Mmm' already!"

"Mm- " He was cut off as Jounuchi grabbed him by the collar and pulled him round to face the group.

"Seriously, dude, what the hell happened to you? Where have you been?"

"Russia."

"Why?"

"Business."

"What business?"

"Business that is none of your business," he turned away. "Would you please just leave me alone?"

They watched him walk off down the corridor, too stunned to go after him.

"Did he just say…please…?"

"Something very weird is going on. Do you think hell's frozen over?"

Yugi bit his lower lip. "He really looks bad…maybe I should ask Mokuba…"

"Nah. You heard him. He wants us to leave him alone. And besides, even if Mokuba would tell you, you know he'd just get pissed off at you for going behind his back. Whatever's up, he can deal with it himself. Now come on, let's go get lunch."

* * *

Despite his friend's advice, the end of the school day still found Yugi walking in the direction of Kaiba's mansion. Jounuchi had insisted on accompanying him, more out of worry that "that creepy brat might try and poison you again," than from any real concern over said creepy brat's brother's well being.

The guards at the gate let them in without question, and Mokuba greeted them at the door. He looked almost as bad as his brother, and was pathetically grateful that they'd come.

"You can help him, right Yugi?" he asked, before they'd even crossed the threshold.

"Um…maybe if I knew what was wrong with him…"

The boy burst into tears. "That's the problem. He won't tell me. Is he angry at me? Did I do something to upset him? I didn't mean to and he wont even talk to me and -" the rest of the sentence was incoherent, as Mokuba broke down.

After Yugi had consoled him for a good ten minutes, and Jounuchi had yelled at him to pull himself together for another five, he managed to calm down enough to give an only slightly garbled account of events.

Apparently, Seto had gone to Russia three weeks ago, along with his secretary and three of his men, though Mokuba wasn't sure why. He had been gone for two days, and had then returned at about four in the morning, alone. He had muttered something incoherent about monsters, and then collapsed on the hangar floor. As soon as he'd come to the next morning, he had locked himself in his study, and refused to come out. Mokuba had no idea what he'd been doing, and Seto had refused to tell him, or even open the door. He had just as arbitrarily left that morning, without saying a word, apparently to go to school.

"- and I don't think he's slept in all this time…what's happened to him?"

"Yeah, cause he was just so stable before this little business venture -" Jounuchi began, but a glare from Yugi cut him off. Fortunately, the younger boy was too upset to notice.

"So where is he now? It can't have taken him this long to get back from school…"

As if on cue, they heard the door open.

"Seto!?"

"…yeah…I'm back…"

"Kaiba, what the hell is going on? Have you seen what you're doing to your brother?" Jounuchi grabbed his arm, then recoiled as he felt just how thin the other boy had become.

"…just…go away…" Kaiba muttered, staring dully at a point some five inches above Jounuchi's left shoulder.

"We're not going to go away Kaiba!" Yugi yelled. "Whatever it is you're doing this for, it has to stop…" he trailed off, a little embarrassed at his outburst.

"…shut up…stupid midget…" Kaiba muttered as his eyes glazed over and he fell forward…

To be continued

Don't try that at home, kids.

So what happened at the base? Just what was Gozoburo doing there? Why was Kaiba so desperate to return to school? Will I even bother to write the next chapter? All will be revealed, but only if you R&R. Yeah, I know that kinda sucked. The next one will be better.

And my thanks go out to my one reviewer. What are you, a 20 questions champion?


	3. Chapter 3

**Genesis**

Summary: No matter how hard he tries, Seto can't seem to escape his stepfather's legacy. But perhaps the demons Gozoburo unleashed aren't just in his head, as desperate email from an old research facility begins a chain of events far more terrible than he could ever have imagined…

Warnings: Will be swearing, violence and disturbingness (I hope. If there isn't, I haven't done my job…). Probably no parings, unless you count the dysfunctional Kaiba/his secretary mentioned in the first chapter.

Author's notes: Inspired by Ultimate Nightmare and that gawd-awful Resident Evil movie, among other things. Oh, to clarify, italics are used for dream/flashbacks and inner voices. Tell me if it's too confusing.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, and only just my plot.

Chapter 3

"…_Oh…God…"_

"_They're…oh… so much blood…"_

"…_What the hell happened here…?"_

"…_nnnh…nnooo…"_

"…_how can there be so much blood…?"_

"_Aaah! What was that?"_

"…_What?"_

"_There's something moving. Get your guns out, you idiots!"_

"…_What is that thing…?"_

"_Everyone get back to the helicopter! Move! Taki, get up!"_

"_There's more of them! What's wrong with their faces?"_

"_Look, you…things…just don't come any closer. I'm warning y - Aak!"_

"_Utsuro!"_

"_Shoot them, you idiots, shoot!"_

"…_Please…please…nooo…"_

Kaiba woke with a start, barely managing to bite back the scream rising in his throat.

He almost screamed again when he realised he was lying half dressed on a couch with Jounuchi Katsuya standing over him, grinning in an extremely disturbing way.

"Good morning, sunshine. Well, afternoon is more appropriate I guess. You were out for like twenty-four hours."

"…What are you doing in my house…?"

"Oh, we came over soon as school finished. Yugi wanted to check on you again, and your brother let us in. This place is so cool!" Jounuchi enthused. "There's like, twelve bathrooms!"

"…yeah…so…what the hell happened to my clothes?"

"What? Oh," Jounuchi smirked. "I haven't touched you, if that's what you're worried about. I think Mokuba took your shirt and stuff. You really scared him, you know." He said accusingly. "Seriously, what happened to fuck you up so bad?" Kaiba looked away. Jounuchi grinned. "Fine. Didn't think you'd tell me anyway. But you owe an explanation to Mokuba."

"…You don't understand."

"Meh. Whatever. You hungry? Wanna go get something to eat?"

"…And give you an excuse to raid the kitchen?"

"You're just paranoid," Jounuchi grinned, trying, and failing not to look guilty.

"Fine." Kaiba got to his feet, a little unsteadily, and followed the other boy out the room. Already the dream's hold had started to loosen, and the sleep had left him feeling more rational than he had in a long time. He'd let himself get caught up in what was just another mess his stepfather had left him to clear up.

_A mess that's already got god knows how many people killed._

But he could deal with it. He always dealt with it. He was Kaiba Seto. That's what he did. While other people fell apart, he stayed calm and detached. Freaking out over this was like letting the old bastard win.

_This isn't a game, Seto. Your girlfriend is dead. Are you so cold, so bitter that you can't even cry for her?_

So a whore from the office was dead. So what?

_But she wasn't just a whore, was she? She was more than that…_

She was another useless sack of guts taking up oxygen. She just happened to be convenient…

_Do you really believe that? Really?_

Yes. Yes he did. Because if he didn't, then he would go insane.

Yugi grinned at him moronically as he entered the kitchen.

"Feeling better Kaiba?"

"Yeah."

"Oh good." There was an awkward silence.

"…So…what classes did I miss today?"

"Um…math…we were doing quadratic equations or something. But I guess you can do them already…oh, but guidance councilor's wig fell off again!"

"…huh…"

"Yeah," Jounuchi chimed in, "there was this huge gust of wind or something, and it just came right off! Hit Hansaki right in the face!"

"Oh…"

"Hansaki thought it was a bird or something attacking him so he screamed and tried to beat it to death with his book bag!"

"Then, then he – he…" Yugi doubled up laughing and the end of the story was unintelligible through his giggles.

It was another two hours before Kaiba was able to get rid of them and finally talk to his brother.

Mokuba had remained subdued throughout the afternoon, only reluctantly replying when spoken to directly. Kaiba hated himself for not noticing his brother's pain sooner, but was forced to wait until the others had left before talking to him.

"Look kid, I'm sorry about the last few weeks. I just didn't want to -"

"No, I'm sorry, Seto. I didn't mean to be such a jerk I was just so scared, and I thought you were going to try to-to do it again…" his brother sobbed.

"What…?"

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'm-"

"Mokuba! For God's sake!"

Mokuba stopped babbling, and stared at his brother, white faced. "I'm sorry Seto-"

"No! Don't start that again. Just calm down. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"

"But you promised me, and I didn't believe you and I'm-"

"Don't say it!" Kaiba snapped. His voice softened; "I know I've been acting like an idiot, but did you honestly think I'd try to kill myself again?"

Mokuba flinched as though he'd been struck. His answer was a long time in coming. "I just don't know, Seto. You never tell me anything. You just keep things bottled up inside until you can't take it anymore, and then you just…snap. You never let anyone in…not even me…and it hurts. I know you think you're protecting me, but you aren't. You just make me watch while you tear yourself apart…"

"…you never said anything…" Kaiba couldn't think of a reply.

"I told you in the hospital that you were screwing yourself up, but you didn't listen then, and you won't listen now. What's the point?" Mokuba got up and turned to leave. "Have your little secrets, play your little games. Just don't expect me to pick up the pieces, Seto."

_How are you going to deal with this, Kaiba Seto?_

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

**Genesis**

Author's notes: I have too many ongoing fics (i.e. 2 ½). Soz if my updates take too long.

Chapter 4

_Domino high school, 7:36 pm, one day later_

Anzu cursed as she ran through the darkened corridors. Why had she even joined the damned school council?

_Because it would look good on a C.V._

She was a dancer, what the hell did she need a C.V. for?

_Try telling mom that._

Still, whatever her reasons, she had joined the council, and had to attend the meetings. And that meant hanging around after school. In the dark.

_God, it's creepy_. She shivered and ran on. Freaking "delegation". Bloody "democracy." In what "democratic" system did the freshmen wind up having to restock the classrooms, every damn time? Admittedly, it wouldn't take her long to run to the supply cupboard and get the equipment, but that wasn't the point now, was it?

She reached the cupboard, and flicked on the light.

_When was the last time this place was dusted?_ She wondered, as a cobweb brushed her face. She sighed, and pressed on, into the darker recesses, where the chalk was kept.

The light went out, and, at exactly the same time, she heard the door click shut behind her.

Okay, don't panic.

_Oh God, the door is locked, I'm going to starve to death and in ten years time, they'll open this door and find my withered corpse._

Just try to be rational.

_I can't get out. Oh God, this place must be haunted. I don't want to die! What will my mom and dad do? They'll be heart broken. What about Atem? I'm never going to marry him. I'm never going to have children, oh God nooo…_

She mentally slapped herself, and told the crazy irrational part of her mind to SHUT THE HELL UP.

Calmer, she crawled over to the door, and groped for the doorknob. She turned it, and the door totally failed to open.

_Damn. Now what? _

She panicked. Screaming hysterically and banging on the door probably wouldn't help, but what the hell. The chance that there was anyone would actually hear her was next to none, but what other options did she have?

Fortunately, it seemed someone else had decided to stay late. The latch clicked and the door swung open, just as she threw herself at it, sending her and her rescuer crashing to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you ok?"

"Fine. I cleverly used my spine to break the fall." The person muttered sarcastically, the timbre of the voice revealing them as male. And as Kaiba Seto to be specific.

"…Sorry, Kaiba. The door was locked and the power went out. I kinda panicked…" _Oh God, he's going to kill me…_

"The door wasn't locked," he said, getting to his feet. "And the lights seem ok." He flicked the switch, and the lights blinked into life. "They were just switched off…" He smirked and then turned to walk away.

She blushed, embarrassed, and then ran after him, classrooms forgotten. "Well someone must have turned them off then."

"Who? No one passed me in the corridor, and there's nowhere else they could have gone."

"It was you, wasn't it?" She said, half joking.

"…Why would I want to lock you in a closet…?"

"As part of a cunning plan to get revenge on us."

"Oh yeah. Cause that's exactly the kind of thing I'd do. Lock someone in a dark supply cupboard for five minutes. Give me some credit. My schemes are more artful than that."

"This coming from the man that brought us the theme park of death?"

"I'll admit; that wasn't one of my better ideas…"

She turned to face him. "So what are you doing here then?"

"…I had to use the school computer network," he answered reluctantly.

"Why? Isn't yours a zillion times better?" she asked, realising she was pressing her luck. He was taciturn at the best of times, and the last few days he'd been even more withdrawn. A civil answer was really more than she could hope for, but, to her surprise, he shrugged and answered;

"Yeah, but a bunch of people who I don't exactly trust have had access to it. I wanted to use a network that couldn't have been corrupted."

"…Oh…"They were approaching the main door. "Anyway, thanks for letting me out. See ya," She chirped and turned to find her shoes. Civil or not, Kaiba still scared the hell out of her.

And then the lights went out. Again.

"Damn."

Fortunately, it wasn't quite as dark as in the cupboard. It was winter, and the sun had set early, but some dim light still filtered in through the windows. Enough for her to see her way to the door.

"It's not going to open, Mazaki…"

She ignored him, and fumbled at the handle.

"…The lock is operated by electricity. You have to press the button…"

She found it, and hit it. Nothing.

"…And since the power's out, It won't work. We're trapped."

_Oh God. Of all the people she could be stuck here with…_She groaned. _Of course, he's probably thinking exactly the same thing…_

Kaiba was not thinking anything of the sort. He was wondering a) why the school's backup generators hadn't kicked in, and b) where he'd put the damned torch. A thorough search of his pockets revealed a small and slightly sticky pen torch that had once belonged to his brother. As to why he had it? That is a different story, for another day.

He flicked it on, and turned to walk away.

"Kaiba, wait. Where are you going?"

"Basement. The generators are there. I might be able to fix them."

He continued walking, the faint circle of light travelling with him, leaving her in the dark.

_So now what? I can wait here in the nice, safe foyer, or I can follow the schizo of into the creepy, dark cellar. Not a difficult decision, _she decided, sitting down.

"Good luck with that." She called after him. He didn't respond, but her voice echoed back to her, eerily. _Since when has there been an echo in this hall…Ok, creepy or not, you're probably safer here than you would be with the lunatic. What was that noise!? Is something moving over there?_

He didn't turn as she caught up with him.

"Change your mind?" She could sense the smirk, but ignored it.

"Ok, so this place weirds me out just a little more than you do."

"Which says an awful lot about the education system in this country."

"So…you aren't going to try and kill me again…right?"

"Do you really think I'd tell you if I was? I'm not though," he added quickly as she went pale. She followed him down the basement steps.

"Oh…good…hey, is there a leak down here…?" she added as they reached the door to the boiler room. There was some kind of liquid leaking out from under it. It looked black in the torchlight. _Oil?_ She wondered. It was certainly sticky enough.

"…Oh God…"

"What? Your designer shoes getting ruined?" She muttered. Then turned to face him. There was a note to his voice she had never heard before. _Fear…? Is he scared…?_

"…Please not here…"

He grabbed the door, movements jerky with barely suppressed panic. He yanked it open. And she heard a sharp intake of breath, as he saw what was on the other side.

"What? What is it?" She craned to see over his shoulder. He pushed her away, but not before she'd got a good look at the rooms contents.

A name tag cheerily proclaimed that this was Nakigara, the school janitor. It was the only thing that identified the grotesque pile of flesh on the floor as human.

She fainted.

To be continued

So how clichéd is this? I know. And not to worry, Ash Kaiba. All will be revealed soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**GENESIS**

Chapter 5

"Mazaki…?"

_Wha…? _Anzu slowly came to her senses. _Why is the floor all sticky? What am I lying in?_

"Mazaki…Anzu…wake up."

_What happened? Did I faint? _Suddenly, recollection flooded back. She opened her mouth to scream, and someone clamped a hand over it.

"Anzu, listen to me. I know you're scared, but you have to keep quiet. The corpse in there is still warm. Do you realise what that means? It means that the thing that did this did it recently, and is almost certainly still around. Now you may wish to end tonight as a mutilated corpse, but I have plans for the weekend. So no screaming, okay?" Kaiba hissed.

She nodded. He let her go and got to his feet.

"…We should keep moving. If we go back upstairs we could get out through a window or something," he said, turning to leave.

She could be scared. She could cower and have hysterics, but that would achieve nothing. And, when it came down to it, Anzu was a sensible girl. So she took all her fear, confusion and revulsion, and turned it into anger. Nice, constructive anger. And there was the perfect target for it standing right in front of her. So she did the only thing she could think of to do.

She pulled herself up and slapped him as hard as she could, snapping his head back. He swayed a little with the force of the blow, but he stayed on his feet.

It was a powerful slap, but clumsy, and he could have dodged it easily, but he made no effort to move. _Masochistic little creep, _she thought.

"You bastard. You total bastard. You _knew_ something was going to happen, didn't you? You knew this wasn't just a power failure and you knew damn well it wasn't a faulty lock on the supply closet. So just what the hell is going on? Who killed him? Your friend the chop man drop by for a visit?"

"…I…"

"What? What can you possibly say? That man is dead because of you! What the fuck happened in Russia? What have you done?"

"…I didn't -"

"Shove it! You don't give a damn, do you? You heartless son of a bitch!"

She kept yelling, but she felt herself losing momentum. It was easy to be pissed off at Kaiba Seto the arrogant, sneering CEO, but the boy standing before her bore no real resemblance to him. He just looked young, scared and utterly miserable.

She eventually ran out of things to scream at him about and stopped, panting.

There was a long and awkward silence.

"Okay. You want to know what's happening? I'll tell you. I'm sick of all this secrecy," he said finally and resignedly. "I thought that it would just end in Russia but it didn't, and I cant deal with this crap anymore."

_As easy as that…?_

"What do you know about the armaments industry?"

"Not a lot…"

"Most people assume it's just making missiles and guns. Crap like that. Well it's not. You've heard of chemical weaponry? Mustard gas, napalm and all that. And then there's biological weaponry. Genetically engineered viruses and stuff. KaibaCorp has manufactured them all at some point."

"…So you're saying the janitor was mauled by a super virus?"

"Just shut up and listen. Gozoburo did more than just modify viruses. He…he…"

Kaiba trailed off and looked at the floor.

"…He was trying to create better soldiers…stronger, faster, resistant to pain. The usual crap…"

"How? What did he do?" She was sure she didn't want to know, but she asked the question anyway.

"People. He was experimenting on people…children…I'm still not sure what he did to them, but he…he created monsters…"

"…oh God. Is that legal?" She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Of course it's not legal, you stupid cow. That's why they went to Russia. The country's so fucked up they don't give a damn what you do, as long as you have the cash. And he had plenty of that…They were cut off from the rest of the company. He kept them off the records, I guess in case the police got onto him. But that meant that they didn't know he'd died. They just kept doing it; they kept creating them, all this time."

He was babbling now, sounding on the verge of hysteria.

"They just carried on until something went wrong. They got out. I don't know how. And then they did what they were made to do. They killed. Everything. I didn't know what they were doing. I didn't know! I couldn't have stopped them, it wasn't my fault!"

The final sentence of his soliloquy sounded more like a plea than a statement. He turned to her, eyes wide and mad, seeking some kind of reassurance. She saw the look on his face and backed away.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, he sounded calmer, like he'd gathered the last vestiges of his self control.

"One of the scientists emailed me. Well, she emailed Gozoburo, but I got it. We went out there to find out what was going on. And they attacked us. They killed everyone else. But not me. I don't understand. Why not me!? The others didn't deserve it. I'm his son, I should have…it should have been me."

There was a long, long silence.

"…You can't seriously blame yourself for this…you're mad if you can think this is your fault…"

He smiled then, an empty, exhausted smile that made her want to both hug him and slap him all over again.

"Just who do you think you're talking to? I think we both know I'm a certifiable lunatic."

Another silence.

"So why are they here, now?" Anzu asked finally. "Did they follow you? Maybe they…they…" She stopped.

"Wanted to finish the job? I don't think so. They could easily have killed me at the base, but they didn't. I don't think it's about that, but I have no idea as to why they did come."

"But…why didn't they kill me before? They just locked me in a closet. That's not very monstery…"

"Fun, I guess. They were made to enjoy the hunt and all that crap. They want to prolong the agony. While you were unconscious, I checked around. There are trails of blood all over the place. The janitor wasn't killed straight away. They toyed with him first. Let him run like a rat in a trap until they got bored and ripped his face off."

"…So what do we do?"

"Get out of here. My office is only a mile from here. There are weapons there, left over from Gozoburo's day. No matter what they are, they can still die. We can -"

He was cut off by the sound of a soft tread on the stairs leading up to the ground floor.

"…Shit. Get behind me." Kaiba muttered, a revolver appearing in his hand like some kind of macabre conjuring trick.

She obeyed, vaguely wondering where he'd got it from, what kind of freak brings a gun to school anyway, and whether it would do any good against the thing slowly coming down the stairs towards them.

To be continued

So there. The big secret is out.

For those that don't know, the chop man was a crazed serial killer who appeared during the Death-T ark of the manga. I'm sure wikipedia can tell you more that I ever could.

Apologies to any Russian readers, and I would beg you to remember that the views expressed by the characters (i.e. "the country is so fucked up") are not necessarily the views held by the author.

Anzu seemed awfully flippant in this chapter, and not at all traumatised. See, I could be clever and say that's just her response to the situation, and her way of dealing with all the horror, or I could come clean and say that's just the way it turned out.

And my comments on the character that's most affected; I know Kaiba isn't exactly the caring type, and I doubt he'd be that upset about the deaths of some of his employees, if it weren't for the fact that he feels responsible. As has been demonstrated throughout the original storyline, he has a highly developed sense of obligation. And he feels, regardless of the truth, that he is responsible for the monsters that his stepfather created. See, I'm going to do something really kewl with that later in the story, so just hang on, and remember, it isn't OOCness if the author can come up with an explanation, however tenuous.

I am getting a major case of writers block with this story, so I may not update it for a while. It just isn't coming together. That's what I get for not planning. Oh well, Ce sera sera.


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